Man's release 'a good sign' for Houston journalist

Tice family hopeful for son's return after another hostage leaves Syria

Marc and Debra Tice, parents of ﻿journalist Austin Tice, ﻿put up four billboards around town last fall to call attention to their son's capture in Syria.

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

The Syrian government's recent release of a U.S. citizen detained in the war-ravaged country since fall 2012 has encouraged those working to free journalist and Houston native Austin Tice.

The U.S. State Department announced Friday that Kevin Patrick Dawes, a 33-year-old from San Diego alternately described as a freelance photographer and a war zone adventurer, left Syria for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on April 1.

"We hope it's a good sign, and we hope that it indicates that Austin can be released soon," said Delphine Halgand, U.S. Director of the Paris-based Reporters without Borders. "It's a time when the American people should really speak out and encourage the administration to do everything they can to obtain the release of Austin."

Tice, a 34-year-old former U.S. Marine infantry officer and Georgetown law student, slipped under a fence at the Turkey-Syria border in May 2012 to cover the intensifying civil war from in and around Damascus, contributing as a freelancer to award-winning coverage to McClatchy Newspapers, the Washington Post and other media outlets.

Tice was to be leaving Syria for Lebanon in August 2012 when his frequent emails to his family stopped.

In late September, a shaky video clip appeared on YouTube showing Tice blindfolded and being prodded up a hillside by masked militants. The video ends with the 6-foot-3 Texan muttering what sounds like a Muslim prayer in Arabic, then saying, "Oh, Jesus."

In the 1,337 days Tice has been missing, no group has claimed responsibility for his capture.

Tice's parents, Marc and Debra, released a statement Saturday cheering Dawes' release and noting the relief he and his family must be feeling.

"We sincerely hope Kevin's release is a precursor of Austin's imminent freedom," the Tices wrote. "The collaboration of Syria, Russia and the United States in Kevin's return is quite heartening to us. We pray this is a sign that the release of detainees sought by U.N. Envoy Staffan de Mistura will become a reality, and that many, many more families will soon rejoice in the safe return of their loved ones."

'This is good news'

Ever since Tice's disappearance, his parents have maintained he is alive, citing assurances they've received from "credible" sources in the U.S. government and abroad.

The Syrian government has never acknowledged detaining Tice and has denied as much to Tice's parents during their trips to the Middle East to look for clues, but U.S. officials have indicated they believe the government of Bashar al-Assad or a group affiliated with it is holding him.

Jeremi Suri, a University of Texas historian specializing in global affairs, said Dawes' release is reason for optimism because it is apparent some factions in Syria see value in negotiating.

"It appears he's being held by either the Syrian regime or those friendly to it, and this is a regime that is acting in a very calculated way to try to keep itself in power. There's every reason to believe that they would use Tice as a negotiating chip," Suri said. "For those who want to see Austin Tice released, as we all do, this is good news. It doesn't mean this is a sign it will happen tomorrow, but I think you have to see this as good news."

Jason Brownlee, a UT government professor with expertise in the Middle East, was more cautious, noting that it's not necessarily known that the Assad regime was holding both Americans.

For Dawes' release to bode well for Tice, Brownlee said, would depend on whether recent peace talks and cooperation between America and Russia have made the Syrian regime feel more secure, and whether lessening U.S. pressure could make Assad less intent on detaining any U.S. citizens.

Tireless effort

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Friday said Tice remains a focus of the administration's diplomatic efforts, often working through Czech officials who serve as go-betweens between the America and Syrian governments.

"We have also been in direct periodic contact with the Syrian government regarding consular issues in general and American citizens detained in Syria. We continue to work through the Czechs on the ground to get information on the welfare and whereabouts of Austin Tice," Toner said. "It's something we raise all the time."

The Obama administration first confirmed it was speaking with Syrian officials about Tice's case a year ago, though they denied having visited or seen Tice, as had been initially reported by the French newspaper Le Figaro.

Leaders of the National Press Club also used Dawes' release to call for Tice's freedom.

"Tice is now the only American journalist known to be in captivity, and he has been missing for far too long," said National Press Club President Thomas Burr. "We hope Jim O'Brien, the first special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, can succeed in bringing Tice home to his family at the earliest possible date."

Tice's parents have been tireless in their efforts to raise awareness of his captivity.

The couple partnered with Reporters Without Borders and a New York ad agency to launch "The Blindfold Pledge" to dramatize the increasing dangers to journalists in repressive regimes around the world. Nearly 270 newspapers and media organizations highlighted the journalist's case on their websites. The couple also helped deploy four billboards across Harris County last fall bearing their son's likeness and the phrase "Over 1,000 days in captivity for being a journalist."

The Tices have appeared at forums and panels discussions on the threats facing journalists around the world, including one last week at Georgetown, their eldest son's alma mater.

The couple also promoted an online petition urging the U.S. government to ramp up efforts to bring their son home.

Driven in no small part by criticism from the Tices and other families whose loved ones have been taken hostage or killed by forces abroad, the Obama administration modified its hostage policies last summer, with the Tices joining the president for the announcement.

Mike Morris has covered City Hall for the Chronicle since early 2013, having covered Harris County government for two years prior to that. Before coming to Houston, he covered local government, agriculture, business and sports at daily and weekly newspapers in southern Indiana and central Ohio. He covers all things policy and politics in the nation's fourth-largest city, explaining the roots of today’s complex problems and exposing public corruption and failing programs. In 2012, he won the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors’ annual Freedom of Information award and was a Livingston Award finalist for a series of stories documenting rampant mismanagement at the Harris County Housing Authority.